Aerated confectionery products are popular food items. Some products are fabricated from aerated confection compositions that comprise a fat constituent while others are substantially free of such fat constituents. An illustrative fat free aerated confection is the common marshmallow. Such marshmallow products are familiar in both larger and smaller sizes.
It is well known that such marshmallows when fresh are soft and pliable but will stale by losing moisture and become harder. Indeed, purposefully pre-dried aerated confections are also well known. These products, particularly in smaller or bite sizes, are commonly added to certain popular Ready-To-Eat (“RTE”) breakfast cereals, particularly those marketed to children. Due to their small size (i.e., having a number count of about 3 to 6/g.), these dried aerated confectionery marshmallow products are sometimes colloquially referred to as “Marshmallow bits” or “marbits”. The marbits must be pre-dried prior to admixture with the RTE cereal in order to reduce unwanted moisture migration from the marbit to the cereal and thus to forestall the multiple problems resulting therefrom. These dried marshmallow pieces exhibit desirable crisp, frangible eating qualities. Generally, marbits are desirably a grained confection. Thus, such dried confections are crunchy rather than tough or chewy.
While there are many types of marshmallow products on the market, their methods of preparation generally fall into two main process groups: extruded marshmallow and deposited marshmallow. In both types, a sugar syrup, a structuring agent, and a whipping agent are the main ingredients. Often, gelatin is used as both the whipping agent to form an aerated foam as well as the structuring agent for setting the foam. Typically, the sugar syrup heated to dissolve solids and then boiled to reduce moisture and is thereafter cooled, and then combined with the gelatin solution to form a slurry. That slurry is then aerated to form a foam. Optionally, colors and flavors are added to the foam immediately after aeration although in certain embodiments these adjuvants are added to the syrup prior to aerating. The particular marshmallow product may be formed into its final shape by an extrusion process. That is, after aeration, the foam is extruded through a die to form a rope. The die imparts the desired peripheral shape to the extrudate rope. The rope is allowed to rest briefly to set, and it maybe dusted or enrobed with starch before being cut into desired sizes. For dried marshmallows, the process can additionally include one or more drying steps. (See, for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,551 issued 2 Nov. 1988 to W. J. Meyer entitled “Method of Drying Confection Pieces” which is incorporated herein by reference).
While marshmallows of a single color are most common, marshmallows having two or even a plurality of colors (collectively herein, “multi-colored”) are also known (see, for example, D 376,039 issued Dec. 3, 1996 entitled “Food Product”, showing a two color marbit design) as well as methods for their preparation. (See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,380 issued Oct. 20, 1986 entitled “Multicolor Confection Extrusion System and U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,404 issued Feb. 28, 1990 entitled “Multicolor Confection Extrusion System”). Both the '404 and '380 patent each well describe the difficulties and sensitivities of such foam product preparation. The conventional processes for making multi-colored marshmallows teach to divide the aerated foam into a plurality of sub-streams, to admix a desired colorant to each sub-stream, and then extrude these colored sub-streams in substantially equal portions into a single rope or multiplicity of such ropes. Alternatively, a cooked sugar syrup or slurry is divided into individual portions or sub-streams to each of which are added distinctive colors and/or flavors that are individually aerated. The separate foam sub-streams or portions are then recombined to fabricate more complex product designs.
Similarly, marshmallows composed of a single formulation are most common, however marshmallows composed of two or more formulations are also known (see, for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,216 issued Mar. 27, 2001 entitled “Quickly Dissolving Aerated Confection and Method of Preparation”). The use of novel protein containing marshmallow formulations capable of dissolving at different rates upon contact with liquid is well described in '216. The use of novel non-protein containing marshmallow formulations also capable of dissolving at different rates upon contact with liquid are described herein. Marshmallows containing such formulations change their appearance upon exposure to liquid when the faster dissolving portion dissolves, leaving behind the slower dissolving portion and its residual shape.
Since marshmallow pieces are so drastically different in their formulation and method of making from the cereal pieces they often accompany in commercially marketed cereal products, they can be used as a vehicle to carry nutritional supplements or other beneficial ingredients not easily incorporated into cereal pieces. Such nutritional components include biologically active components, fiber, micro-nutrients, minerals and mixtures thereof. Marshmallow bits can also serve as carriers of useful drugs and pharmacological agents. Such nutritionally fortified marshmallow pieces are also known (see, for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,432,460 issued Aug. 13, 2002 entitled “Food Product and Method of Preparation”, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,953 issued Sep. 21, 2004 entitled “Food Product and Method of Preparation”). Marshmallows described in '460 produced by the process described in '953 can contain calcium, an important mineral for bone health, at fortifying levels without significantly altering the taste as compared to an unfortified marshmallow.
As previously described marbits can be admixed with loose ready-to-eat cereal pieces, such cereal blends can comprise about 10%-40% marbits. The RTE cereal pieces to which the marbits are added are often themselves sugar coated to provide not only desirable sweetness but also to enhance their crunchy texture. Since marbits can contain 90% or more sugar, the combined RTE cereal blend can be quite high in sugar content. Some parents believe that consumption of high sugar RTE cereals by their children is undesirable. Such concerned parents desire RTE cereals that not only their children enjoy but also those that are lower in sugar content. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a reduced sugar dried grained aerated confection suitable for addition as a component to an RTE cereal.
While multicolored and appearance changing marshmallow pieces have enhanced consumer appeal particularly for children's products, such products are perceived to be undesirable by some from a nutritional standpoint due to their high levels of sugar(s). Accordingly, there is a continuing need for new confection products having additional novel aspects beyond appearance and nutrition supplementation; namely, marshmallow and dried aerated confections characterized in part by reduced sugar levels.
However, numerous problems are encountered in attempting to make a reduced sugar dried grained aerated confection. As described above, marbits may comprise 90% or more sugar. Even modest reductions in sugar content are challenging because sugar is an integral part of the substance and structure of marbits. In order to successfully remove sugar from marbits, one or more ingredients must be added in substitution of the removed sugar. Part of the appeal of marbits is the crisp frangible texture described above, a texture directly attributable to the sugar marbits contain.
One approach is to provide a reduced calorie bulking agent such as polydextrose or sugar alcohols. While useful, polydextrose and sugar alcohols are several times more expensive than sugar and some materials can have an undesirable laxative effect especially in more sensitive individuals such as children.
In other approaches, various fiber non-caloric ingredients can be added to the sugar syrup in partial replacement for sugar(s). However, the organoleptic properties of the finished confection are highly dependent upon the sugar content and its crystallinity limiting the flexibility of any sugar replacement.
Surprisingly, the above needs can be met and improved sugar reduced dried grained aerated confections provided. The present improved aerated confections contain high levels of non-hydrated starch that remains in particulate form homogeneously distributed throughout at least one portion or phase of the marshmallow. Inclusion of a nonhydrated starch is obtained by adding the starch material to a concentrated syrup before aeration. The concentrated syrup is low in moisture and thus constitutes a water sparing environment. Surprisingly, addition of a starch ingredient to moisture-sparse syrup can be accomplished without resulting in hydration of the starch. The starch acts as an inert filler with minimal adverse impact on the desirable marshmallow properties provided by an aerated syrup. As a result, such starch addition can be used to provide a 1:1 substitution for sugar or other syrup ingredients with minimal adverse organoleptic effects.
The present invention additionally provides methods of preparing such reduced sugar dried aerated confections. In one variation, the reduced sugar dried aerated confections are colored and flavored. A combination of two or more colors or flavors may be blended into a single grained confectionary piece or it can contain separately colored and flavored regions. In another variation, composite reduced sugar dried aerated confections are prepared comprising either a protein containing or hypoallergenic non-protein containing quickly dissolving confection portion and a slowly dissolving confection portion. Such confections can be prepared by substituting the present marshmallow compositions for those of the '216 patent's methods and those described herein. In still another variation, reduced sugar dried aerated confections can be fortified with nutritional components in the manner described in '460 and '953.